Development of a low-cost instrumentation system applied to an electrolytic cell

The use of fossil fuels will not be able to meet the humanity's growing long-term energy demand. In this scenario, the use of hydrogen as an intermediate energy source has become an interesting alternative as a method of energy production. In addition, the use of fossil fuels can lead to harmful consequences, such as the emission of greenhouse gases. This paper presents the development of a low-cost instrumentation system for monitoring the temperature, current, voltage and gas flowrate of a dry electrolytic cell. Through the electrolysis process, the cell generates a hydrogen-rich gas, which is used as an additive in internal combustion engines to reduce pollutant gas emissions and primary fuel consumption. The measured variables are presented as graphs as a function of time to analyze the behavior of the electrolyzer. The main advance reported in this work is related to the use of a low-cost sensor for a hydrogen-rich gas flow measurement, which calibration was performed indirectly using a rotameter as a reference. The calibration curve adjusted to the experimental data by linear regression presented a coefficient of determination of 0.9241. Thus, the use of the low-cost sensor is a viable alternative for measuring the electrolysis gas generated by the cell.